The involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in the experience of regret

Facing the consequence of a decision we made can trigger emotions like satisfaction, relief, or regret, which reflect our assessment of what was gained as compared to what would have been gained by making a different decision. These emotions are mediated by a cognitive process known as counterfactual thinking. By manipulating a simple gambling task, we characterized a subject's choices in terms of their anticipated and actual emotional impact. Normal subjects reported emotional responses consistent with counterfactual thinking; they chose to minimize future regret and learned from their emotional experience. Patients with orbitofrontal cortical lesions, however, did not report regret or anticipate negative consequences of their choices. The orbitofrontal cortex has a fundamental role in mediating the experience of regret.     

Population aging policies in East Asia and the United States

As a result of successful efforts to reduce fertility and mortality, East Asian populations are beginning to age, in some cases rapidly. Policies in response to population aging range from attempts in Singapore to reverse it by encouraging more births to efforts in Japan to accommodate it by increasing employment opportunities for older workers. The population of the United States, which had a longer postwar baby boom, is aging more slowly than these two countries and may be able to learn from the East Asian experience with aging policies.     

Human aging: usual and successful

Research in aging has emphasized average age-related losses and neglected the substantial heterogeneity of older persons. The effects of the aging process itself have been exaggerated, and the modifying effects of diet, exercise, personal habits, and psychosocial factors underestimated. Within the category of normal aging, a distinction can be made between usual aging, in which extrinsic factors heighten the effects of aging alone, and successful aging, in which extrinsic factors play a neutral or positive role. Research on the risks associated with usual aging and strategies to modify them should help elucidate how a transition from usual to successful aging can be facilitated.     

基于情绪测量实验的黟县屏山村旅游情境感知研究

为研究游客在传统乡村旅游过程中情绪体验与旅游情境、空间要素之间的关系,建立以自然景观情境、历史文化情境、乡土生活情境为主要考察情境以及观赏类、信息指索类、体验类等旅游吸引物为主要空间要素的旅游情境感知分析框架,并依据情绪唤醒与空间感知之间的关系,利用皮肤电信号表征情绪唤醒程度,设计基于生理信号的旅游情境情绪唤醒测量实验。通过招募28名被试人员在安徽省黄山市黟县屏山村内的实验路径上进行实地漫游,获得被试情绪唤醒程度分布结果,再利用问卷调查统计情绪唤醒区域的吸引物空间要素分布频率并进行分析,结果表明:传统村落中的历史文化情境与乡土生活情境对游客更易产生情绪唤醒作用;不同旅游吸引物要素对游客的情绪唤醒具有不同影响;旅游体验与空间审美具有内在一致性。     

劳动力老龄化对农户生产技术效率的影响——基于1430个农户水稻生产数据分析

【目的】研究农村农业劳动力老龄化、经营特征和区域特征等因素对稻农生产技术效率的影响,为提升水稻生产技术效率提供参考和建议。【方法】采用长江流域12个省(直辖市)的1430个农户水稻生产的微观调研数据,运用随机前沿生产函数模型和效率损失模型,对比经营特征和区域特征等因素,分析农户不同年龄段特征对农业生产技术效率的影响。【结果】长江流域水稻种植农户老龄化现象普遍,农忙时节劳动力相对不足;受体力及人力资本限制,老龄劳动力的技术效率高于年轻农户;增加当前结构劳动力生产要素的投入量,并不能有效带来水稻种植产出增加。对比看来,长江上游地区老龄劳动力平均技术效率水平最高;下游地区中年农户技术效率水平最稳定,部分地区农户水稻生产技术效率仍有提升空间。老龄农户当前流入土地比率大于年轻农户,但未来土地流转倾向低于年轻农户;文化程度、参加农业技术培训人次、专业协会、农资经营部门和农技推广部门等变量对技术效率有正向影响,而是否为村干部、土地流转情况、家庭兼业情况、基层信息服务站及地方政府等变量则对技术效率有显著的负向影响。【建议】应客观认识农业劳动力老龄化因素对稻农生产技术效率的影响,从出台优惠政策吸引劳动力回流、加强农业技能培训、完善土地流转机制、健全农业信息发布机制等方面着手,提升稻农生产技术效率。     

我国劳动力老化对劳动生产率的影响研究

人口老龄化对经济的直接影响体现为劳动力老化对劳动生产率的影响.本文在基于标准C-D生产函数的计量经济模型框架下,采用省级面板数据和固定效应估计方法,深入探究全国以及不同区域劳动力老化对劳动生产率的影响.实证结果显示,我国劳动力老化对劳动生产率有显著的消极影响,且沿海地区劳动力老化对劳动生产率的消极影响比非沿海地区更强烈.要缓解劳动力力老化对劳动生产率的消极影响,可以从以下三个方面入手：首先,稳定低生育水平,适当放宽人口政策;其次,大力发展教育事业,特别是对老年劳动力的教育和培训;第三,合理引导人口流动,实现地区间劳动力年龄结构的优势互补.     

基于近红外光谱技术的大豆种子老化级别快速鉴别方法研究

大豆种子容易发生老化并丧失活力,大豆种子活力检测对目前农业生产具有重要意义。以2020年收获的大豆种子为样本进行人工老化试验,老化时间设置为1、2、3、4、5、6d,以未老化的种子作为对照组,每个老化等级30个样本。扫描获取全部210条近红外光谱数据,以4：1的比例划分样本集。对原始光谱数据建立BP网络模型1,再分别采取多元散射校正和标准正太变量变换对原始光谱进行预处理,建立模型2,模型3。比较3种模型可以发现预处理技术能缩短模型迭代时间,同时可以消除部分噪声,提高模型预测能力,且经过标准正太变量变换处理后的模型结果较优,由于预处理后的数据维度并未发生变化,模型的迭代时间较长,不利于实际应用。因此采取主成分分析、连续投影法、竞争自适应重加权法对经过标准正太变换后的数据进行特征波长变量提取,将光谱数据由原来的1845维降到10维、23维和150维。对经过特征波长变量提取后的数据分别建立BP网络模型,得到模型4、5、6。综合分析上述六种模型,最终建立了150输入、10个隐层、7个输出的神经网络鉴别模型6,其分类准确率达到93.43%,迭代时间2.25s可以较好实现对七类不同老化级别的大豆种子快速、无损鉴别。     

THE PROBLEMS OF AGING AND OF VASCULAR DISEASES

The increase in death rate with increasing age over that at the age of ten accounts for over a million deaths each year in the United States. To what extent these deaths are due to the aging process remains to be determined, but the progressive loss of resistance to nearly all diseases appears to play a large role even in youth and middle life. Since loss of resistance to disease, as well as loss of ability, seems to result from an underlying aging process we may look upon aging as constituting our greatest medical problem. Second in importance to the aging problem is that of the vascular and renal diseases, since these are involved in nearly 50 per cent. of the deaths after the age of ten (in addition to the effect of aging). Until more is known about aging and vascular diseases we are not justified in predicting what can or can not be done about them. A new experimental method in which healthy animals of different ages are killed by a known measurable cause offers possibilities for determining the nature of the aging process. Our two outstanding medical problems are being neglected largely because of the lack of funds to support both the long-term research and the raising of old animals needed for adequate investigation in this field. New endowments as well as changes in the policies of existing foundations are urgently needed.     

海南西部桉树人工林春季土壤水分时空变化研究

对海南儋州桉树林与椰林样地连续定点采样,分析春季桉树林土壤水分时空变化及其与椰林土壤水分差异。结果表明:(1)1─4月为土壤水分消耗期,土壤水分逐渐降低,桉树林土壤水分明显低于椰林。(2)土壤水分表层、次表层、深层差异明显。桉树林土壤表层含水量较低,变化较大;次表层土壤含水量相对较为稳定;深层含水量较多,也较稳定。(3)连载代次和树龄与土壤水分含量有明显的关系。与连载代次相比,树龄对土壤水分的影响更大;树龄愈长土壤水分含量愈少;采伐之后1龄桉树林土壤水分处于恢复阶段,含水量较高。短伐连栽生产和经营方式对桉树林水生态环境造成不利影响。     

Ethylene-inhibiting compound 1-MCP delays leaf senescence in cotton plants under abiotic stress conditions

Cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants produce more ethylene when subjected to abiotic stresses, such as high temperatures and drought, which result in premature leaf senescence, reduced photosynthetic efficiency, and thus decreased yield. This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the ethylene-inhibiting compound 1-methylcyclopropene(1-MCP) treatment of cotton plants can delay leaf senescence under high temperature, drought, and the aging process in controlled environmental conditions. Potted cotton plants were exposed to 1-MCP treatment at the early square stage of development. The protective effect of 1-MCP against membrane damage was found on older compared to younger leaves, indicating 1-MCP could lower the stress level caused by aging. Application of 1-MCP resulted in reduction of lipid peroxidation, membrane leakage, soluble sugar content, and increased chlorophyll content, in contrast to the untreated plants under heat stress, suggesting that 1-MCP treatment of cotton plants may also have the potential to reduce the effect of heat stress in terms of delayed senescence. Application of 1-MCP caused reductions of lipid peroxidation, membrane leakage, and soluble sugar content, together with increases in water use efficiency(WUE), water potential, chlorophyll content, and fluorescence quantum efficiency, compared to the untreated plants under drought, suggesting that 1-MCP treatment of cotton plants may also have the ability to reduce the level of stress under drought conditions. In conclusion, 1-MCP treatment of cotton should have the potential to delay senescence under heat and drought stress, and the aging process. Additionally, 1-MCP is more effective under stress than under non-stress conditions.     

高中地理教师情感教育实施状况调查分析——以信阳市为例

通过对信阳市区58名高中地理教师教学中情感教育实施情况进行调查,发现信阳市高中地理教师在教学中实施情感教育的程度偏低。针对这种情况,提出了解决措施。     

乡镇公共空间场所依恋影响因素与提升策略研究——以安徽省滁州市腰铺镇为例

随着城乡建设的快速推进,乡镇公共空间建设过程中出现地方特色流失、缺乏人性化关怀、乡土空间精致化等现象。深入探讨乡镇发展过程中的"人地关系"能为乡镇发展提供新的思路。安徽省滁州市腰铺镇居民的公共空间依恋感知现状表明,腰铺居民对于乡镇的情感依恋高于功能依赖;年龄越大、文化水平越低的居民对于公共空间的功能性依赖越强,其情感认同也越深;居民依恋感知与出生地距离负相关,与其居住时长正相关。建议从保护居民日常活动空间、延续当地特色文化脉络、增进居民价值感知三个方面着手,提高居民场所依恋,促进乡镇地域性特征的保护和传承。     

老化和磁场处理对大白菜种子生理生化指标的影响

为研究大白菜种子老化后的生理生化变化以及磁处理对种子活力的影响,采用高温高湿的人工环境和人工磁场,测定种子老化后活力指标的变化。结果表明:4个大白菜品种随着老化时间的增加,发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数及活力指数都呈下降趋势,发芽势的下降幅度要大于发芽率的下降幅度。老化种子浸出液的电导率随老化时间的延长而逐渐增加,超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶及过氧化氢酶的活性逐渐降低。经过磁场处理后的老化种子的各项活力指标的变化趋势与未经磁场处理的大体一致,但变化幅度明显变小,特别在老化后期,这种趋势更加明显。表明磁场处理在一定程度上可提高大白菜种子抗老化能力,品种间存在一定差异。     

Visually evoked potentials: amplitude changes with age

Visually evoked potentials of 215 subjects, aged 1 month to 81 years, were studied. Amplitudes of waves in the first 250 milliseconds of the response changed markedly with age. In responses recorded from the occiput, there was a rapid increase in amplitude reaching a maximum in the 5- to 6-year-old group, with means of amplitudes at this age being about twice as large as means of some older age groups. With children 7 years and older there was a rapid decline in amplitude until ages 13 to 14, when an abrupt increase in amplitude appeared. Amplitude appeared to stabilize at about age 16. In older subjects, mean age 60 and beyond, significant changes were noted in the earlier components of the response.     

Circadian oscillations in rodents: a systematic increase of their frequency with age

The circadian activity rhythms of golden hamsters and two species of deermouse, when released from a light-dark cycle of 12 hours light and 12 hours of darkness into constant darkness, had progressively shorter periods as the animals became older. A possible bearing of this fact on the aging process is briefly outlined.     

Corticosteroid modulation of hippocampal potentials: increased effect with aging

Adrenal steroids bind specifically to hippocampal neurons under normal conditions and may contribute to hippocampal cell loss during aging, but little is known about the neurophysiological mechanisms by which they may change hippocampal cell functions. In the present studies, adrenal steroids have been shown to modulate a well-defined membrane conductance in hippocampal pyramidal cells. The calcium-dependent slow afterhyperpolarization is reduced in hippocampal slices from adrenalectomized rats, and it is increased after in vivo or in vitro administration of the adrenal steroid, corticosterone. Calcium action potentials are also reduced in adrenalectomized animals, indicating that the primary effect of corticosteroids may be on calcium conductance. The afterhyperpolarization component reduced by adrenalectomy is greater in aged rats than in young rats, suggesting that, with aging, there is an increased effect of corticosteroids on some calcium-mediated brain processes. Because elevated concentrations of intracellular calcium can be cytotoxic, these observations may increase the understanding of glucocorticoid involvement in brain aging as well as of the normal functions of these steroids in the brain.     

Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old

To be successful takes creativity, flexibility, self-control, and discipline. Central to all those are executive functions, including mentally playing with ideas, giving a considered rather than an impulsive response, and staying focused. Diverse activities have been shown to improve children's executive functions: computerized training, noncomputerized games, aerobics, martial arts, yoga, mindfulness, and school curricula. All successful programs involve repeated practice and progressively increase the challenge to executive functions. Children with worse executive functions benefit most from these activities; thus, early executive-function training may avert widening achievement gaps later. To improve executive functions, focusing narrowly on them may not be as effective as also addressing emotional and social development (as do curricula that improve executive functions) and physical development (shown by positive effects of aerobics, martial arts, and yoga).     

秧龄对超稀播旱育秧模式杂交中稻的产量效应

【目的】研究杂交中稻超稀播旱育秧模式的产量效应。【方法】选用“冈优725”和“Ⅱ优838”2个杂交中稻品种为试验材料,每个品种设置2种育秧模式（常规密播旱育秧(对照)和超稀播旱育秧）和6种秧龄（45,51,57,63,69和75 d）,分析育秧模式和移栽秧龄对杂交中稻生育进程、田间茎蘖数、经济性状和产量的影响。【结果】1）与常规密播旱育秧模式相比,超稀播旱育秧模式下,当秧龄超过51 d时,随秧龄的增加,杂交中稻全生育期显著延长,有效穗数、单穗着粒数、单穗实粒数、结实率、成穗率和单穗质量下降;当秧龄超过60 d时,水稻产量随秧龄延长而显著降低。2）当秧龄大于57 d时,超稀播旱育秧模式的最高茎蘖数较常规密播旱育秧模式显著（P<0.05）提高,且其提高程度随秧龄的增加而显著（P<0.05）增加。3）在超稀播旱育秧模式下,63和69 d秧龄的稻谷产量分别为9 047和8 247 kg/hm²,与常规密播旱育秧模式下45 d秧龄的稻谷产量（8 918 kg/hm²）相当。【结论】在川西北丘陵旱区,超稀播旱育秧模式有利于培育大龄壮秧,其秧龄可以延长至63～69 d,能有效缓解因旱迟栽带来的不利影响。     

归芪多糖延缓细胞衰老的分子作用机制

以SIRT1和线粒体为切入点,采用分子生物学技术以及多种线粒体分析技术,深入探讨SIRT1和线粒体在衰老细胞中的作用,揭示归芪多糖延缓细胞衰老的分子作用机制。结果表明,AAP显著降低细胞的衰老程度并提高细胞活力,而Ex527阻断AAP的作用。同时,发现AAP增强细胞内SIRT1和CyclinD1的表达,降低p53的表达水平,在Ex527组中未观察到类似的逆转作用。线粒体分析结果显示,AAP可显著降低细胞内的活性氧水平,降低线粒体膜电位,减轻线粒体肿胀程度和增加线粒体内ATP含量,而Ex527的预处理消除这些作用。基于上述结果,推测AAP可能通过信号通路p53/p16和CyclinD/CDK4来改善线粒体功能,从而达到延缓衰老的作用,且这些作用与SIRT1密切相关。     

Performance enhancement of a solid particle heat exchanger using adaptive control

Two classes of feedback controllers, proportional-integral control and adaptive control, were applied to a counterflow solid particle heat exchange prototype. The primary objective was to optimize process start-up performance of the heat exchanger. The two most significant factors affecting the controllers were: (a) limited input control effort in terms of energy; and (b) deadtime of the process which was a function of the heat exchanger design. The adaptive controller, based on parameter estimation and a digital control law derived using controller synthesis, outperformed the conventional controller during start-up by as much as 11% with respect to a performance measure comprised of both error and energy components. Proper design and implementation of the adaptive controller was crucial for successful regulation.